Arrested While Job Hunting, Former Teacher Secretly Tried Without Lawyer’s Knowledge

(Minghui.org) When Ms. Liu Yurong’s family and lawyer went to the court to submit their defense statement on July 18, 2022, they were shocked to learn from judge Xu Bing that a hearing had already been held on July 13 without their knowledge.

Ms. Liu’s family said that when they called the judge at 5:10 p.m. on July 13 to inquire about her case, Xu didn’t mention anything about the hearing that had taken place earlier that day, but questioned the family as to how they obtained her phone number and threatened retaliation. The family later called their lawyer for help, only to find that the call couldn’t go through.

Ms. Liu, a 60-year-old former middle school teacher in Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province, was arrested on November 27, 2021, while visiting another local resident Ms. Kang, in her 70s, to ask for her help to find job opportunities.

Ms. Liu’s family went to the Beijiao Police Station to seek her release, but to no avail. Officers of Taihe District Domestic Security Office quickly submitted her case to the Linghai City Procuratorate, which approved her arrest soon after.

In order to frame Ms. Liu, officers of the Domestic Security Office attempted to force her to plead guilty and admit that she went to Ms. Kang’s home to deliver materials about Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline persecuted by the Chinese communist regime, instead of looking for a job. Ms. Liu refused to comply.

As Ms. Liu was still recovering from the physical damage caused by the torture in her previous prison term for practicing Falun Gong, her family is very concerned whether her symptoms would relapse due to the poor living condition and possible abuse she might face.

Both her family and her lawyer kept submitting letters to the police, demanding her release. They also wrote to the Linghai City Procuratorate, urging the prosecutor to withdraw the decision to approve her arrest. Neither the police nor the prosecutor responded to their requests.

Zeng Qiang, a prosecutor at Linghai City Procuratorate, informed Ms. Liu’s lawyer on January 24, 2022 that there was no way for them to release her. When the lawyer later reviewed Ms. Liu’s case document, he discovered that the prosecutor charged her with “attempting to commit a crime” due to insufficient evidence.

Ms. Liu’s family called prosecutor Zeng. Although he answered the call, he said to the family that they dialed the wrong number, after they began to talk about Ms. Liu’s case. When they called again, Zeng no longer answered.

Meanwhile, the family also called judge Xu of the Linghai City Court to inquire about her case. The judge refused to provide any information and kept asking them to wait.

Ms. Liu was previously arrested in 2008 and sentenced to six years for upholding her faith. She suffered a stroke due to torture in custody and was released one year ahead of time in 2013. Upon returning home, she was devastated to learn that she had been fired by the Linghai City Education Bureau and her 14 years of service were wiped out, resulting in no retirement benefits. She did part-time jobs caring for seniors to make a living.

Perpetrators’ contact information:

Ma Liang (马量), president of Linghai City Procuratorate: [phone], [phone]Zeng Qiang (曾强), prosecutor of Linghai City Procuratorate: [phone], [phone], [phone]Xu Bing (许冰), judge of Linghai City Court: [phone], [phone]

(More perpetrators’ contact information is available in the original Chinese article.)

Related reports:

Arrested While Job Hunting, Former Teacher Faces Prosecution Again for Her Faith

After 5.5 Years of Unjust Imprisonment, Former Teacher Arrested Again for Her Faith